Shedding the Corporate Bitch
Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch – the podcast that challenges the status quo and empowers bold professionals to ditch outdated expectations, rewrite the rules, and rise into leadership on their own terms.
Hosted by transformational coach and unapologetic truth-teller Bernadette Boas, each episode delivers raw insights, unfiltered conversations, and practical strategies for ambitious corporate professionals, executive leaders, and HR trailblazers who are ready to level up—without selling out.
Whether you're navigating toxic cultures, battling burnout, or aiming for that next big role, this show is your weekly dose of motivation, straight talk, and real solutions that get results.
Follow now—and start shedding what no longer serves you, so you can build a career and life that actually fits you.
Shedding the Corporate Bitch
If You Don't Have Them, You Won't Succeed
Are you setting goals or just dreaming? Is your team aligned to the business goals you've passed down to them or are they spinning in confusion?
Do you have a process for setting, communicating, and pursuing your goals?
In this episode, Bernadette Boas delves into the art of effective goal setting within the corporate environment. She highlights the critical steps and strategies necessary for setting realistic, specific, and manageable goals that drive success and foster team collaboration. Understanding why many people fail at their New Year’s resolutions within the first 17 days, Bernadette shares key insights on maintaining motivation and focus. Tune in to learn actionable tips and avoid common pitfalls in goal setting!
For a team, goals provide e a clear direction, motivate team members to work together, enhance collaboration, and enable measurable progress, ultimately leading to better overall results and a stronger sense of purpose within the team. Without them, teams can lack focus and struggle to achieve optimal performance
We discuss:
- why most goals fail
- how to craft not just a powerful SMART goal but a SMARTY goal that actually work
- And the key do’s and don’ts to avoid the pitfalls that derail even the best intentions.
- Tools you can use
Whether you’re managing a team, a project, or your own career trajectory, this episode will give you actionable strategies to set goals that inspire action and deliver results.
Additional Resources:
- For a free SMARTY Goal template, visit: BallofFireCoaching
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Tune In:
- Don’t miss out on gaining valuable strategies for effective goal setting. Listen now for insights that can transform how you manage your career, team, and projects.
Have you ever set a goal for your team only to find it fizzle out before the quarter ends? Maybe you've been handed down some very vague objectives from up above, leaving you and your team frustrated, confused and spinning your wheels. Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Pitch, where we cut through the noise and really focus on what drives results. I'm Bernadette Bowes, executive coach, and I am dedicated to helping corporate professionals just like you to lead with clarity, purpose and impact.
Speaker 1:In today's episode, we're diving into the art of effective goal setting For a team. Goals really provide clear direction, motivate team members to work together and enhance collaboration and enables measurable progress, ultimately leading to better overall results and a stronger sense of purpose within the team. Without them, teams can really lack focus and struggle to achieve optimal performance. So we're going to discuss why most goals fail and how to craft not only powerful, smart goals, but really powerhouse smarty goals, and what are the key do's and don'ts to avoid the pitfalls that derail even the best intentions. And, lastly, what tools can you be using in order to enhance your goal setting and execution? Whether you're managing a team, a project or your own career trajectory, this episode will give you actionable strategies to set goals that inspire action and deliver results. Let's dive in.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast that transforms today's managers into tomorrow's powerhouse leaders. Your host, bernadette Boas, executive coach and author, brings you into a world where the corporate grind meets personal growth and success in each and every episode. With more than 25 years in corporate trenches, bernadette's own journey from being dismissed as a tyrant boss to becoming a sought-after leadership coach and speaker illustrates the very essence of transformation that she now inspires in others with her tips, strategies and stories. So if you're ready to shed the bitches of fear and insecurity, ditch the imposter syndrome and step into the role of the powerhouse leader you were born to be, this podcast is for you. Let's do this.
Speaker 1:I have to admit, I have been a very intentional goal setter for a very long time, making sure that I'm thinking through, intentionally and purposely, what it is I want to pursue and achieve and why that is, and getting it down on paper in a very specific, clear and measurable way in order for me to really know that each and every day when I get up, I know what I need to be doing. And that's what I want for you, for you and your team, to really understand. Why is it you're getting up each and every morning to go to work, work your little tail off and to achieve your goals, achieve a bonus, achieve a promotion, whatever the case might be. But I want you to keep in mind some very common sayings that are out there that when you really think about it and you consider your focus on goal setting and execution and achievement, they very well might be true, the first one being dreams without goals are just dreams. Think about that. Dreams without goals are just dreams. Without a plan, without thought, without measurements. They are just wishes. So we have dreams without goals are just dreams. Nice to haves, wannabes, hope, those kind of things. And goals without a plan are just wishes. Yes, you might define a goal, but if you don't actually put together a plan that, once again again, is actionable, measurable, time-bound, et cetera, then they're just wishes that you would want to achieve. So think about it.
Speaker 1:There's been times over the years where I have stated to myself okay, I want to get a particular client, I want to lose weight, I want to complete mini or sprint triathlons, and yet I really never put a plan in place in order to achieve those things. I have a number of clients who will do the same at the beginning of the year, lay out exactly what they want to do from a goal perspective, but then it's too general and too vague and therefore there's really nothing that they're focused on to start executing, against measuring and achieving, and then they wonder why they fall flat or even they give up on them or fail on them. So what we want to be sure that we all are doing is being very intentional, very thoughtful about the planning, about the defining of your goals. So they are a tool that gives you energy and focus and excitement about what it is you're looking to pursue and achieve. Now let's talk about the benefits of goals.
Speaker 1:There are some experts out there that basically will state that you don't need to have goals to be successful, and that is one's opinion. I have found over the years, not only in the work that I've done over the last 16 years with corporate professionals, but even through my own personal and professional lifetime that when I had a well-defined goal and a plan to support it, and then I also had the accountability in place, there was nothing that was going to stop me from achieving that goal. When I lacked any of those elements and I was relying on oh well, I have it in my head, I don't need to put it on a piece of paper Well then I'm just starting to grab at things, I'm starting to throw things at the wall to see what sticks, and eventually I find myself very frustrated, very overworked, very empty around what it is that I'm trying to achieve, and eventually and most of the time I don't achieve it, I pretty much walk away from it and kind of give up on it. So we want to be sure that you really understand the benefits of goal setting for yourself and for your team. So then you do put into place the tools that are proven to help you be far more successful than maybe you have in the past and or minimize the stress and minimize the risk of you not achieving what it is you want in your work and life. So some of the benefits that we can talk through are they do provide clear direction, and I know you probably have heard hundreds of times the analogy of if you were to take a road trip from Atlanta to California and your goal is to reach California in a certain number of days, so forth and so on.
Speaker 1:Would you really get in the car without a roadmap of how to get to California, without really looking at ways to determine if there's any road closures, bridge closures, situations going on that are going to stall you or prevent you from taking that path that you've laid out? Would you really get in the car beforehand without gas? Would you get in the car without sufficient monies or credit cards or some means of being able to buy food, lodging, so forth and so on? No, if you have a goal of going from Atlanta to California, you're most likely going to sit down and really lay out what it is you need, how you're going to get there, what are the roadblocks and the challenges and the objections that you're going to get along the way, so forth and so on. So that's why goals really provide literally, in some cases, very clear direction.
Speaker 1:All right, and then, of course, if you've ever spoken to your team members and ask them about what it is that would help them be more effective, more efficient, more energized and excited about the work that they do, most likely what you'll find because I have found it over the last 16 years of talking to hundreds and hundreds of employees and their managers they will tell you that they just need more clarity, more direction, more understanding of why they're working on something and, overall, more feedback regarding the work and the goals that have been put into place and, most likely, passed down to them. So it also provides your team members, which is what you really, as a leader, should be focused on. It provides your team members that confidence, that clarity, that focus, that certainty and even trust in you that you have a plan, you know what it is that you're all trying to achieve and you're going to be supportive and successful in getting them there. Not to say that there won't be ups and downs along the way, but at the same time, along with your plan, where you make adjustments and take off things, add things, it builds that confidence and trust that you will get them to the end point, to the success line, and, of course, that motivation creates the energy in them, the confidence, the excitement. At the same time, it really ensures that there's keen collaboration amongst you and the team members and amongst themselves. So you meet with the team, you provide the overview of the goals, maybe a detailed drill down of how you're going to measure what actions need to be taken, when things need to be done, who's going to be assigned what, and then that helps them together to collaborate to discuss any issues or challenges or ideas or options as they go to execute and achieve a task, a project, an overall goal. It really enhances collaboration and, of course, you're going to have a tool that you can then use to measure the progress that you and the team are making. Without measurements, you're left to kind of flail as far as, am I going to meet that deadline? Am I going to get the results that we're looking for?
Speaker 1:When you have everyone lined up around goals, around a plan, around a timeline, then not only are they motivated and energized and excited and they're collaborating better and they're performing and producing better. Well, that's ultimately going to drive to far better results, far more effective results, and a real strong sense of purpose and value and contribution by the team members and yourself. And that's all anyone would want. When they get up and they go out and spend the amount of time that they spend in the workplace with each other, with you, all they want is to really know that they're driving to a success line and there's a purpose and a reason, a value to it, and even that there are consequences or accountability along the way. But that clarity and focus and confidence and energy just makes it all worth it to get up and work as hard as all of you do. So really keep these benefits in mind when either you're pushing back on having goals and really focusing and being intentional and purposeful about the goals that you set for the team, for yourself, for the business. At the same time, keep it in mind what your team members need in order to feel as if they are organized, structured and have purpose. Okay, keep these benefits in mind.
Speaker 1:Now let's look at why, even if you have goals in place, why they may fail you, what might get in the way of you actually optimizing those goals to the point of achieving them. The very first one that I run across all the time with my clients is that their goals are very vague. So let's make it simple. Someone might say to me I want to lose weight, I want to lose weight, I want to get fit, I want to get a raise, I want to get promoted, I want to improve employee engagement or improve manager effectiveness, and that's where they leave it. Therefore, my job is to then ask, question after question after question, to make sure it's a very powerful, very specific, very action-oriented type of goal.
Speaker 1:So really think about, when you're setting goals for yourself or for others, that you can't have them vague, because if they're vague then they're almost that dream without a goal is a dream and goals without a plan are just wishes. That's what happens when you have vague goals. Now, of course, a big one that gets in the way of many people is they don't set goals because they're fearful of not achieving them. They're fearful of failing. There's even some that have a fear of succeeding, and what does that mean to me? So really think about if you are pushing back or resisting or you don't see the value, even after our conversation. Then really think about what is it within yourself that might be causing you to not want to not only define the goals but commit to them. One of the reasons why many people fail on their goals they're not fully committed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I need to take these goals from my boss and their boss and they're going to pass them down to me and I'm going to look at them and I'm going to roll my eyes and I'm going to put them aside and I'm not really going to commit to them Personally or professional goals. You need not only that detail and those specifics and that plan, but you also then need to be committed to them. And if you see one of your team members flailing around working toward that goal, buying in on that goal, pursuing that goal, then a question you might ask them is do you have a concern about this goal? Do you have a concern about the work that needs to be done, when it needs to be done, how it needs to be done, how we're going to measure the success of it, so forth and so on, to really understand and get within them. As far as is there this apprehension due to fear of failure, they're not committing, so forth and so on.
Speaker 1:All right, now I have very ambitious clients. I have very ambitious clients, which I love, and they have big and many aspirations and oftentimes I have to tame them down. One of those things is centered around the fact that they define too many goals, and that's another reason why they fail at those goals in achieving them or even pursuing them, because they set so many that they just don't have the bandwidth, the time, the resources, and it's just plain exhausting. I believe in one to three. Three, the max of your goals, personal and professional. The max of your goals, personal and professional. Sure, you can have five or six, but I can guarantee you that there's going to be one to three that really stand out for you, that really create a lot of energy for you, that is really critical or high priority for you. And so, instead of stressing that you have so many goals that you need to achieve, identify those one to three, prioritize them into the most important, and then you can have the four, five and six at the same time, be realistic about whether or not those goals are going to be achieved or not.
Speaker 1:And this is very relevant when it comes to what your boss has passed down to you. They may pass down to you a laundry list of goals and the conversation you need to have with them is the reality of being able to achieve all of them, and not only achieve, because, at least with my clients, I don't look for them to achieve, I look for them to exceed, and so they first need to evaluate and look at the goals that they have in front of them, and then they need to do their own priorities. They need to get that confirmed with their boss as far as what are the most critical ones, what are the must haves, what are the ones that you know, miss Boss, I'm going to exceed on these because those will be my number one focus. I'll accomplish the others if I absolutely have to. At the same time. They're at risk of just succeeding, not exceeding.
Speaker 1:Now, I am huge on accountability and when it comes to any performance or productivity or activity from a team member or a client or whomever is, you always need a vehicle for accountability. When you set out to start pursuing your goals, you need to seek out those individuals that are going to hold you accountable to them. Now, of course, in a formal business structure pursuing those business goals you're going to you know it's going to be your direct manager and within your organization structure. However, there's some goals that you want to seek accountability from other people maybe some mentors, some coaches, some friends, some colleagues, whatever the case might be. Friends, some colleagues, whatever the case might be. But if you really want to be successful in achieving your goals, you want to have someone putting your feet to the fire and making sure that what you've laid out in your plan for your goal is executed on. And if it's not, challenge you as to why. Try to get under your heart, so to speak, to really understand is there something holding you back in pursuing and or achieving that goal? Just like what we talked about in regards to fear of failure, you want some accountability partner that will keep you honest.
Speaker 1:I mentioned the lack of commitment, which touches on also the lack of focus I have witnessed. When someone has a very well-defined goal and action plan and they're excited about it and energized about it and they're very optimistic about it, well, there's no need to really provide a lot of oversight when it comes to their focus on that goal. It's when things become vague or things become confusing, or things become fearful and things start slipping through the cracks when all of a sudden, the focus goes away. So what I'll often suggest you or anyone to do is goals change, priorities change. Even your business goals, priority will change over time, within a year, and therefore what you should be looking at at least regularly once a month, once a quarter is all right. These are the goals I laid out for myself. Are they still relevant, realistic, are they still priority? And if not, then where do they stand in regards to you actually spending one moment of time focused on them? And it's a conversation you could have with yourself, and then a conversation you can have with your boss or your team members, whatever the case might be.
Speaker 1:But if you or your team members are losing focus, losing energy, feeling unmotivated towards something they're supposed to be pursuing, then you might want to start asking questions about whether or not the priority for them has changed. It may not have changed for you, but the priority for them has changed. It may not have changed for you, but the priority for them has changed. And a situation that this will happen is if, all of a sudden, something else comes into their world, into their universe, personally or professionally, and they get distracted, they get reassigned, they get re-delegated and other things prioritized over and above, or they get overwhelmed and they start losing that focus and that attention and that energy around a particular goal. So you want to really have some foresight into paying attention to your team members as they're working toward achieving your goals and making sure that you're touching base with them in regards to the priorities, because they may change for them.
Speaker 1:Now, of course, when it comes to the discussion that we had already around fear of failure, fear of success, there's a lot of mental roadblocks that will come up. There's a lot of times where, all of a sudden, someone starts doubting themselves, they start questioning themselves, they start dealing with imposter syndrome, they start feeling insecure about something. The mental roadblocks will also come up. Maybe initially excitement, energy, motivation, priority everything is there, priority, everything is there. And then things to wane, and then things seem to wane. So again, you have to pay attention. As the manager, as the leader, you have to pay attention to kind of be observant of that type of behavior or shift in attitude or shift in productivity, and get it addressed.
Speaker 1:And then what many people will do more so personally than professionally, but I definitely have seen it professionally is if they've set a goal and they're not making the progress that they want, they start giving up on it. Now. That is so typical of New Year's resolutions. Diet is probably the easiest example is if someone sets a goal to lose a certain amount of weight and they're going to commit to this particular diet and fitness program and one week, in two weeks, in three weeks, in four weeks in, they're not seeing the progress that they expect or they want. Then all of a sudden, that'll be very demotivating and they can often give up on their goals. It's why they say the majority of individuals give up on the resolutions within the first, like 17 days of the new year days of the new year.
Speaker 1:If you really think about it, if you evaluate yourself as to why you might have let the resolution or goal that you set go by the wayside, you might want to really spend some time considering why. What was it that was lacking? Was it your motivation? Was it the plan? Was it the accountability and the support that you wanted? But why, okay? So really consider all those various reasons as to why a goal or a set of goals might fail and really consider okay then, what do you need to do in order to kind of put a warranty in place that will keep yourself and others motivated and energized around a goal that you have to pursue and achieve, and then you touch base and assess and readjust as you go.
Speaker 1:I already mentioned an example of what I would call a bad goal or a very vague goal, but let's drill into it just a little bit more Again. You might create goals that say I want to improve customer service, I want to increase retention, I want to improve employee engagement, I want to do better on sales. All of those examples are extremely vague. There's no meat underneath them. So if I were to ask you okay, so what are you going to do to get better sales? And if you all of a sudden are like, well, I haven't really thought about it, I just need better sales, well, do you really think you're going to be organized and structured and focused in a way that you're going to go and get those better sales?
Speaker 1:Let's talk through the most popular methodology for setting goals, and then I have my own take on them, and so we'll add that little spice to the conversation as well. The most popular methodology out there for setting goals is SMART, and it's an acronym and it stands for Specific S, m for Measurable, a for Actionable, r, for I say realistic, others will say relevant and T for time bound. So again, specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time bound. If you were to take that I want to do better on sales and you start asking yourself questions Okay, I need to be more specific. What does being better on sales mean? Is it being better on sales in a particular product or set of products or services, or a combination of? Is it better sales by a certain industry or a certain target market or a certain type of customer? Is it doing better on sales locally, internationally? What does it specifically mean when you say you want to do better in sales and then the M measurable would be okay? So what does that look like? What are your sales today and what is the goal that you want to achieve? What's that percentage of improvement? What's that revenue, maybe? What's that profit? What's the cost?
Speaker 1:All the measurements how many customers, how many customers in a particular market, how many customers in a particular industry? Get as discreet as possible when it comes to how you want to measure your success. Okay, so measurements. Then there's actions. What are you going to do? What are those actions you're going to take in order to realize those specifics and those measurements? So you come up with an action plan right.
Speaker 1:Then I want people to then look at whether or not the goal that they've set for themselves is realistic. So I use realistic because in a lot of cases, my clients and, at times in my life, myself, are not realistic about the goals that they're defining or the specifics, measurements and results that they're looking for, and so I simply ask all right, let's walk through each and tell me is it realistic? Is the goal realistic? Are the measurements realistic? In the example of sales, can you achieve that percentage of increase when you've struggled to accomplish it over the last one to three years? Is it realistic that you can get into this market when you've never been in this market before, or go after this target customer? That is very hard to get into, whatever the case might be. That is very hard to get into, whatever the case might be.
Speaker 1:But you really want to challenge yourself to make sure that you're realistic about the goals that you're setting. Now, as a coach, would I want you to have stretch goals and have those really heightened goals? Absolutely, but I don't want you failing. You don't want yourself failing, you don't want team members failing. So the realistic test is to ensure that you're creating an opportunity for you to be successful, not to downsize or deflate your goals and the stretch that you want or the achievement that you want, but more so, just be sure you're realistic. Examples are that I see in the workplace are I want to be promoted to this position like a vice president position, and right now they're a manager, and there's like two levels in between that and that's not necessarily unrealistic. But then the time bound comes in, the T comes in and all of a sudden they want to do that in 12, 18 months and their business or their company. That's not the pattern, that's not the reality and therefore I have to work with them to adjust that 18 months Okay. So you want to be sure you're realistic. And then, of course, every one of these goals, to make them truly a goal, has to have a time bound, has to have an end date, has to have an achievement date, and you could go as far as even taking that action plan and getting milestones in between the start and the achievement, but they have to have due dates in order for it to be really a goal. And it's those due dates too that really motivate people and really get them kind of off their duff and start acting on them.
Speaker 1:Okay, now, I had mentioned that smart methodology of goal setting is the most popular out there. However, I really found over the years, one huge element missing, and we talked about it in what the benefits, what it takes to achieve a goal and what can cause you to fail on your goal. And I said to myself we really need to consider why and that's how it makes smart eagles is the why is actually W-H-Y in the meaning of it, but smarty is with just the letter Y, and that is for you to really think about. Why do I want to pursue and achieve this goal? Why is it important to me? Why is it going to add value to my life? Why is it going to create confidence and energy and motivation and value and self-worth? Why, why do I want to achieve this? And so add that element to your evaluation and your development of your goal, and that in itself, too, will give you that confidence and that energy and that focus and that clarity and that real drive to not only pursue it but to achieve it. So the SMART goal methodology, spiced up with a why, makes them smarty goals, and you can take a look in the show notes or in any of the captions that go with this episode, and or on our website, ballofirecoachingcom forward slash podcast for this particular episode and you'll be able to also download a template for you to be able to create your smarty goals.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the do's of goal setting and why, again, it's beneficial for you and your team to have goals, to collaborate together on goals and team members in the definition of those goals and in, obviously, the pursuit and the achievement of them. Now, of course, there are some goals that are passed down and there's really no changing them. However, they are typically in the beginning state of being a smart goal, in that they tell you that you have a certain sales revenue to achieve or an efficiency or a productivity measurement to achieve, but they don't necessarily tell you the how, they don't necessarily tell you the when, at least the milestone, when and so then that's when you and your team can come together and collaborate. All right, these are the goals that we have for the year, and let's walk through each of them and let's really drill into creating these into smarty goals. So collaboration is huge. Then what you should be doing is taking those big goals and splicing them up into smaller, more manageable, more achievable goals. So again, let's go back to an easy one around I'll use the diet and then I'll even use that promotional goal that I mentioned earlier. So, the diet.
Speaker 1:So many people fail at diets because they say, okay, I want to lose 25 pounds before the end of the year, and it's February. And the next thing you know they say to themselves you know what? I've got till December to achieve this goal, so I'm going to hold off until March, and then it's I'm going to hold off until August, and then it's I'm going to. This is too hard, I'm going to just hold off and work it even slower until November. And then December comes around and they haven't achieved their goal. So you want to say to yourself all right, I do want to achieve 25 pounds by the end of the year, but for this month I want to lose five pounds. And then the next month comes around I want to lose X amount of weight, I want to get into the gym X amount of days per week, so forth and so on.
Speaker 1:When it comes to the career, I want to go from manager to vice president, and we reset the expectation. So I want to do that within 36 months and we've defined what it is that we need to do. Well, 36 months seems like forever, so that's going to cause someone a lot of stress. So I need to. For the next 10 months before the end of the year, I want to get to that next promotion from manager to that director position and therefore, what do I need to do? What measurements am I going to judge my progress on? When do I want to do some of those actions?
Speaker 1:So you take the big goal that you have for yourself, personally or professionally, and you cull it down to something that's more manageable. And then, of course, what you need to do next is you need to be reviewing, assessing, adjusting and really being honest about the progress that you're making. And we all kind of have our starts and our accelerations and we have our de-accelerations. And it's not meant for you to beat yourself up or for you to judge yourself or to give up. It just says to yourself okay, so I had a little bit of a slip, I need to catch up. How am I going to do that? And then I'm still on track to achieve my goal, or I realized that goal that I said, especially from a realistic perspective, wasn't and therefore I'm going to adjust the measurement, the end result, in order to be more realistic. So I am successful in achieving that goal.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you really want to review, assess, adjust your goals as you go. You don't wait, you don't define them now and then you assess them at the point of when they're due, the final deliverable. You do it along the way, so you make those adjustments and you reprioritize, you add things, you remove things, so forth and so on. Okay, and then you need to be celebrating your wins all throughout, big or small, big or small, even the little missteps that you might take. Celebrate them. You're pursuing something, you're staying focused. Yes, you might not have considered something and therefore that's what caused you to have as a little slip, but at the same time, you're working it. So celebrate your wins. That'll give you the energy and the confidence and the excitement to stay on point. Now, what are some don'ts that you need to keep in mind? Again, don't set unrealistic expectations or set unrealistic goals. You're setting yourself up for failure before you even get started.
Speaker 1:Once you've set your goals, especially for your team members, avoid standing over them. Avoid micromanaging. Make sure that those goals and the action plan has assignments and projects and tasks that you are then delegating out to your team. That will empower them and make them feel valued on the team in pursuit of that goal. You might also be responsible for all the goals, but your job as a leader is to delegate and trust that your people can do it and that they're going to come to you If they can't or they're having challenges. You might check in with them, but you're not standing over them. You're not taking the test from them because you could do it better. You're empowering them.
Speaker 1:Next would be ensure that your goals are aligned to the bigger goals. Don't have something that goes off in left field as far as what it is you or your team are going to be pursuing. Everything should be aligned to the overall. Maybe it's a business function, maybe it's the company as a whole, maybe it's the vision of the organization. Whatever the case might be, the goals that you have that were passed down to you and you've defined for yourself and your team should all align, driving toward the overall goals being achieved, and then avoid setting too many of them, even for your team. Make sure that the individual might be defining their own goals. They're going to add the goals that you have for them. They're going to add the goals the company has for you, for them, and make sure that you and they are not biting off more than you can chew, because that'll just create more frustration and more discouragement for both your team members and yourself.
Speaker 1:Try to avoid the pitfalls that can happen along the way. For instance, I'm often told or given feedback from employees about their managers that they really weren't clear in regards to what the goals are or the expectations are, or they weren't told why am I working on this? Why is this important? Why or how is this going to add value to the team, to the organization? Add value to the team, to the organization? So you, as a leader, need to ensure that you're communicating with them very specifically, very clearly and very consistently, so don't fall into the pitfall of your team walking around confused and frustrated and discouraged because you're not really providing them what it is that they need in order to be successful or even to stay focused and to feel energized to move forward.
Speaker 1:Now I mentioned that you can go to ballofirecoachingcom forward slash podcast, find this episode, and in the show notes will be a free download of a template you can use to create your smarty goals for yourself and even for your team members, so you can make a bunch of copies, give them to your team members and allow them to start crafting their smarty goals. There's also other tools, apps and technology that can be used in order to not only set your goals but also then to track them along the way Things like Asana, trello, okr, so forth and so on. I'll leave that up to you to go and research those. But there are definitely apps and other technologies and even websites that you can use in order to more automate not only the goal setting but the tracking and the updating.
Speaker 1:And then I even suggest to clients to put a reflection practice in place. It's very similar to the assessing of the goals, the progress, the results, but the reflection is inward and outward, it's not just black and white, as far as all right. So here are the measurements we had for this goal, and here we are, in regards to progress and or achievement, but more so, your internal take on how you've contributed to it, what challenges have come up, what mental roadblocks did you experience? What mental roadblocks did you experience? So a reflection practice can be very, very valuable to your goal pursuit and achievement. So consider putting a reflection practice in place, along with using tools and templates and other things that will really help your goal setting, but, more so, your pursuit and achievement, to be that much more productive, valuable and results oriented.
Speaker 1:Now, as we wrap up, just keep in mind setting goals is not about checking a box. It's about creating a roadmap for you and your people that inspires action, builds momentum and really drives measurable results. Remember, goals without a very clear why are just wishes and, as a leader, your job is to inspire your team with purpose so they rally around it and really drive toward achieving it. Some key takeaways I want you to think about is make your goals smart. Add that why so you have smarty goals, and avoid the common pitfalls of vague objectives, unrealistic timelines or setting too many priorities at once.
Speaker 1:A next step I would want for you is to take one of the goals that you have for yourself beyond your business goals, the ones that are passed down to you, but maybe your leadership development goals, maybe a personal goal and really work it into the SMART methodology and add that why to make them SMARTy, and then share this episode with your team members so they can also get their head around what it takes to really have a sticky, action-oriented, results-driven set of goals for themselves. So again, go to balloffirecoachingcom forward slash podcast to find this episode and find the link to your free Smarty Goal template right there in the notes. And also be sure to follow and subscribe to our show on YouTube, apple Spotify and on ball of fire coachingcom forward slash podcast. Let's keep the momentum going and I'll see you next time for another episode of shedding the corporate bitch. Bye.
Speaker 2:Thank you for tuning into today's episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch. Every journey taken together is another step towards unleashing the powerhouse leader within you. Don't miss any of our weekly episodes. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, spotify or wherever you love to listen. And, for those who thrive on visual content, catch us on our Shedding the Bitch YouTube channel. Want to dive deeper with Bernadette on becoming a powerhouse leader? Visit balloffirecoachingcom to learn more about how she helps professionals, hr executives and team leaders elevate overall team performance. You've been listening to Shedding the Corporate Bitch with Bernadette Boas. Until next time, keep shedding, keep growing and keep leading.
